Goldfields Railway
| Goldfields Railway | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| The Goldfields Railway's 0-4-2 Peckett steam locomotive with a train at the Waikino terminus in 2005. | |
| Locale |
Karangahake Gorge, Bay of Plenty  New Zealand
|
| Commercial operations | |
| Name | Part of the East Coast Main Trunk Railway |
| Built by | New Zealand Government Railways |
| Original gauge | 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) |
| Preserved operations | |
| Owned by | Goldfields Railway Incorporated |
| Stations | Two |
| Length | 6 km (3.7 mi) |
| Preserved gauge | 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) |
| Commercial history | |
| Opened | 1905 (to Waihi) |
| Closed | 1978 (Paeroa - Tauranga) |
| Preservation history | |
The Goldfields Railway is a heritage railway that operates between Waihi and Waikino in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand's North Island. It operates over a section of track that was part of the East Coast Main Trunk Railway until the Kaimai Tunnel deviation made it redundant in 1978. The Goldfields Railway was formed in 1980 as the Goldfields Steam Train Society to retain a portion of the old main line and switched to its current name in the mid-nineties.
The route currently used by the Goldfields Railway was originally built through the Karangahake Gorge as the Waihi Branch from Paeroa on the Thames Branch to provide rail access to the significant mining activity that was then taking place in the Waihi area. It was not intended to be a main line, but after extensive surveys and a few false starts, it became part of the East Coast Main Trunk to Tauranga, Te Puke, and ultimately Taneatua in 1928. This route was circuitous, thus making it less appealing than more direct road routes, but traffic nonetheless grew as Tauranga's port increased in importance and the Karangahake Gorge route lacked sufficient capacity. Accordingly, a new route was required and the direct Kaimai Tunnel deviation was built, opening on 12 September 1978. The Karangahake Gorge route was closed and dismantled in the 1980s, except for the 6 kilometres between Waihi and Waikino, which the Goldfields Railway saved.
In Waihi, much of the infrastructure of the station and yard remains intact and preserved; although some freight-related structures such as the livestock yards are gone, the goods shed, six railway houses, and small ancillary buildings remain, and the main station buildings are protected and recognised by Heritage New Zealand and the Rail Heritage Trust. The line to Waikino is 6 km long and includes a few bridges, including the only private railway bridge over a state highway in New Zealand. In Waikino, the station is not the original one built on the site; it was formerly Paeroa's station and was transferred to Waikino in 1990, just before the mothballing and eventual closure of the railway through Paeroa to Thames in 1991. The station is now used as a cafe and to link the railway with a walkway through the Karangahake Gorge and other local attractions.
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Wikipedia